Victoria Gouramma (sometimes spelt Gowramma in India or Gauromma in British newspapers of the period) (4 July 1841 – 30 March 1864) was an Indian princess.

Life

She was born in Benares, to

Chikka Virarajendra Chikavira Rajendra or Chikka Vira Rajendra (Kannada: , ''cika/cikka vīrarājendra'') (also in other variations, including Chikkaveera Rajendra), was the last ruler of the Kodagu (Coorg) kingdom in South India. His actual name was Vira Rajendra ...

(spelt "Veer Rajunder Wadeer" in English court proceedings), the ruler of

Coorg Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...

who was deposed by the British under the command of

James Stuart Fraser General James Stuart Fraser (1 July 1783 – 22 August 1869) was a British army officer in the Madras army in India. He was involved in the Coorg War of 1834 and the town of Kushalnagar was for sometime named after him as Fraserpet. James was bo ...

. Virarajendra surrendered on 24 April 1834 and was taken political prisoner to

Benares Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tr ...

. He went to England in March 1852 to demand in court that the East India Government return his wealth. Queen Victoria received the king with royal treatment and he left his daughter in the care of the queen. Gowramma was placed under the care of Major Drummond and his wife who had travelled by ship along with the Raja. Gowramma was baptized on 5 July 1852 in a ceremony conducted at the Buckingham Palace by the Archbishop of Canterbury with the Queen as godmother (sponsor) giving her the name of Victoria. Coorg Pedigree Bowring

In 1858 Queen Victoria asked

Lena, Lady Login Lena, Lady Login ( Campbell; 1820 – 17 April 1904) was a Scottish courtier and author. She was involved with educating Duleep Singh, deposed maharaja of the Sikh kingdom of the Punjab, when he was still a child, and later with bringing him to th ...

to find a suitor for her god daughter. There was an expectation that she would be a suitable wife for

Duleep Singh Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh, GCSI (4 September 1838 – 22 October 1893), or Sir Dalip Singh, and later in life nicknamed the "Black Prince of Perthshire", was the last ''Maharaja'' of the Sikh Empire. He was Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest son ...

, a deposed member of royalty, but he announced that he intended to marry an English woman. Lady Login tried to find a suitable European nobleman to become Gowramma's husband, but Gowramma married Lt. Col. John Campbell, who was 30 years older than her, despite the schemes. They had a daughter Edith Victoria Gouramma Campbell born on 2 July 1861. Gouramma died of tuberculosis in 1864 and was buried at Brompton cemetery. A marble bust was made of her by Baron

Marochetti Baron Pietro Carlo Giovanni Battista Marochetti (14 January 1805 – 29 December 1867) was an Italian-born French sculptor who worked in France, Italy and Britain. He completed many public sculptures, often in a neo-classical style, plus re ...

and is now at the

Osborne House Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat. Albert designed the house himself, in t ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. Edith Victoria married Henry Yardley, son of Sir W. Yardley, and had a son Victor.

References

External links

The Matchmaker Queen

A princess' tale
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gouramma, Victoria 1841 births 1864 deaths People from Kodagu district Indian princesses